Hells Canyon

We decided to splurge and celebrate our anniversary with a jet boat ride on the Snake River in Hells Canyon! We're getting more adventurous in our old age! The weather was glorious and we had such a fun day!
We drove about 1.5 hours to Whitebird, Idaho - up and over the mountains - and then 17 miles down (and I mean DOWN into the canyon) on a gravel road, to Pittsburg Landing, on the Snake River. We have been driving in mountain terrain for so long we were awestruck when we drove up to the plains - miles and miles and miles of farm and grass lands.
We have decided that the #1 item you need when visiting Idaho is BRAKES! When we finally began our descent to Whitebird, we drove, I should say coasted, about 15 miles down a 7% grade. There were several "run a way" truck stops along the way - deep sand, high angle run offs designed to stop a vehicle. Somewhat comforting!
The advantage of the tour we took is that it actually begins in Hells Canyon - so the whole adventure is in the canyon. The disadvantage is, you have to drive there - down, down, down to the boarding spot. As we drove into the parking lot we saw a Piper Cub coming in to land on a small airstrip across the river - looked pretty "tricky" with the canyon walls! This area is called Hells Canyon because of all the rapids on this part of the Snake River. They are rated on a scale of one through six - we went through one Class 5, two or three Class 4's and many Class 1-3 rapids - exhilarating! Oregon is on the west side and Idaho is on the east.
We went 32 miles up the Snake River to the Oregon Visitor Center at Hells Canyon Dam, had lunch and then began our return trip. Fun going up but really exciting coming back down at full speed through the rapids - we got wet! Roger got some good videos of the smaller rapids but during the bigger ones we were in life jackets, holding on tight - the camera would have gotten soaked!
The jet boats are really a neat way to ride the rapids but there are also plenty of kayaks and rubber rafts on the river. Apparently, there is a feud between the boaters and the rafters similar to the cattle vs sheep ranchers! There were several private jet boats - they use them to sport fish large sturgeons - the guide told us they cost about $70,000!! If they catch a sturgeon, it is illegal to even take them out of the water so, they have to get pictures of them near the boat! They are huge and often take 4-5 hours to "land."
There are three old sheep ranches on the river - none in operation now - what an isolated life they led!
We stopped at Mack's, the only restaurant in Whitebird for dinner - people we met on the boat told us they had good food. What a surprise - a gourmet type place in this little tiny town! A really nice end to a perfect day!